tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post3702741364840110966..comments2023-11-03T11:37:04.473+00:00Comments on nothing new under the sun: What shall we do? Twelve responses to converging crisesbyron smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-26822596832544831252012-04-20T01:45:59.213+01:002012-04-20T01:45:59.213+01:00The Conversation: Simple steps to save the environ...The Conversation: <a href="https://theconversation.edu.au/simple-steps-to-save-the-environment-may-not-make-much-difference-6507" rel="nofollow">Simple steps to save the environment may not make much difference</a>. The kinds of small steps that lead to larger ones vs those that lead to resting on one's laurels.byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-71571552506578507602011-07-19T20:29:52.528+01:002011-07-19T20:29:52.528+01:00Another (small) thought: Skeptical Science offers ...Another (small) thought: Skeptical Science offers a number of ways average citizens can <a href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=892" rel="nofollow">contribute to scientific knowledge of our world</a>.byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-36203223459240358032011-02-20T14:26:29.114+00:002011-02-20T14:26:29.114+00:00The excellent blog Make Wealth History has a simil...The excellent blog Make Wealth History has a <a href="http://makewealthhistory.org/what/personal-actions/" rel="nofollow">similar post that is worth checking out</a>.byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-77312016531192286322010-11-26T14:15:30.657+00:002010-11-26T14:15:30.657+00:00Thoughtful, helpful list. Thanks.Thoughtful, helpful list. Thanks.Christinehttp://350orbust.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-61019855417246238262010-11-13T05:43:03.425+00:002010-11-13T05:43:03.425+00:00Liver?! I see you're in a cryptic crossword do...Liver?! I see you're in a cryptic crossword double-meaning mood...Anthony Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16277745466192451883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-82223857597685241002010-11-12T21:51:54.166+00:002010-11-12T21:51:54.166+00:00Yes indeed - apathy through distraction (even by g...Yes indeed - apathy through distraction (even by good things!) rather than deliberate rejection of the importance. And so this is why it's important that our responsibility isn't simply personal but also communal. The whole body is not an eye. But if the body has no liver, then it's very unhealthy.byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-18897219303725290462010-11-12T20:02:42.738+00:002010-11-12T20:02:42.738+00:00Yep, I'm with you there. Though I'd want t...Yep, I'm with you there. Though I'd want to add the very real danger of apathy. This isn't necessarily the nihilistic hedonism that it could be; for a Christian, I can see it as quite likely that the crisis goes in the too hard basket, and attention is given to other areas where it's possible to feel like one's good ethical actions bear good fruit. <br /><br />What would you Anthony Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16277745466192451883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-13594640967770375752010-11-12T16:43:40.859+00:002010-11-12T16:43:40.859+00:00Anthony - I think you are actually getting closer ...Anthony - I think you are actually getting closer to the heart of my research project. I suspect that the perception of being "too late" will only increase in the next few years and that this could well lead to all kinds of very bad ethical decisions being made (dagners/predicted increasing trends: nihilistic hedonism ("eat, drink and be merry..."); populist quick techno-fixesbyron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-18337577968813296472010-11-12T02:25:21.358+00:002010-11-12T02:25:21.358+00:00As is often the case, I only work out that I didn&...As is often the case, I only work out that I didn't say what I meant to say after the fact. <br /><br />Your comment on irretrieval/retrieval clarified for me the key idea I left out: the possibility that upon reaching a tipping point, what was good and what was bad become radically skewed, reversed even. <br /><br />eg. Say we should put all our human capacity into the challenge of undoing Anthony Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16277745466192451883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-78894618129034591792010-11-10T15:36:35.033+00:002010-11-10T15:36:35.033+00:00Anthony - it may indeed be a dark part of our hear...Anthony - it may indeed be a dark part of our hearts that thinks that, though for those struggling under unfair and more or less compelled debt, the desire to be liberated by the downfall of the creditor can be an expression of a desire for justice. But for the average greedy mortgage-slave up to their ears in leveraging in order to play the property market, it is indeed a wicked thought. Yet byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-33851284637023070722010-11-10T05:31:57.893+00:002010-11-10T05:31:57.893+00:00Anthony... sounds like you've been reading Bon...Anthony... sounds like you've been reading Bonhoeffer. Well, I have anyway. I think he would resonate with your idea of 'irretrieval ethics' in that he thought reflection on good/evil was exactly the <i>wrong</i> place for ethics to begingbroughtohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04835374770367316112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-40637858860568864992010-11-10T04:42:59.737+00:002010-11-10T04:42:59.737+00:00Re 8 - I fear there is also the dark part of our h...Re 8 - I fear there is also the dark part of our hearts that thinks 'if the crisis is that bad, I might never have to pay it off'. Even failing this, it's clear enough that having the money now can only advantage rather than disadvantage me...<br /><br />Byron, I've had a phrase in my head for a few days - what do you think of it? 'Irretrieval ethics' - when a situation isAnthony Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16277745466192451883noreply@blogger.com